Economist’s IPhone/IPad Apps Better Than Print?

Did you know that we are giving away up-to 100 iPads, Samsung Galaxy S tablets, and Blackberry Playbooks on January 17th? Enter on Facebook at http://bit.ly/pdogsweepsapp to receive your ticket numbers today!

This week, The Economist unveiled free iOS apps that dish out digital versions of its full print edition every Thursday. In-app purchases for individual issues are $5.99, which can seem a bit pricey, but users with print and online subscriptions can get them gratis.

Instead of a multimedia swamp of elements all clamoring for your attention, this magazine app takes a dignified approach to content by simply offering well-written, thought-provoking articles — and the occasional audio versions read cleanly and professionally — all in a simple-to-use UI. This was a well-done application, and I think there will be a number of print customers who will ditch their pulp subscriptions for this.

Click to get the iPhone version and here for the iPad app.